BEFORE THEY GO
A quick portrait session before your high school graduate moves away and everything changes.
Before They Go Portraits | Pelham, NY
For a few weeks this August, I’ll offer short, relaxed portrait sessions for families preparing to send a child off to college, the military, a gap year, or whatever comes next.
I’ll come to your home, photograph your student and immediate family, and be gone before your reluctant teenager has time to make this a whole thing.
20 minutes. At home. Three final digital images included. Pelham, NY only.
Why now?
When my oldest sister left for college in 1989, my mother took a photograph of all four of us kids in front of our packed Dodge Caravan.
It wasn’t planned or styled. I was ten years old, puffy-eyed from crying, and standing a full head and shoulders beneath my older siblings.
It was also the last photograph of the four of us while we still shared the same address.
That picture means more to me now than anyone standing beside that minivan could have understood.
Before They Go sessions are my way of helping families mark that same brief stretch of time: after graduation, before move-in, while everyone is still home.
What will it be like?
This is not a typical family portrait session.
There is no elaborate location planning, no need for matching outfits, and no expectation that your teenager will arrive thrilled to be photographed.
We’ll work around your home and immediate surroundings, using the front steps, yard, doorway, driveway, family dog, dorm bins, or whatever belongs to your family’s particular version of this moment.
During our 20 minutes together, I’ll photograph:
Your student on their own
Your student with parents
Immediate family and siblings
Pets, if they are willing participants
A few small details that tell the story your kid’s next chapter
I’ll keep things moving, offer plenty of direction, and make it as painless as possible for everyone involved.
Before They Go Sessions
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Pay a $325 Session Fee to secure your date and receive
A 20 min student & family portrait session within Pelham, ideally at home
24 hr access to a watermarked digital proofing gallery containing 10-15 images
Your choice of 3 digital images delivered as hi-res JPG files
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Your booking fee includes your choice of three images from a proofing gallery. Galleries will contain a total of about 10-12 images. Think You'll Want All the Digitals?
Upgrade & get the Full Gallery download for $175 when you book your session date.
Decide you want the Full Gallery later and pay $225
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Pay $325 now, get 3 images
Pay $500 now & get the full gallery (10-12 images)
Pay $550 if you book now and wait to upgrade to full gallery later.
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Before They Go sessions are offered in August in Pelham, NY.
Once the calendar is full, these sessions will close for the year.
What this is—and what it isn’t
Before They Go is a focused, seasonal session built around one transition- the last summer before your high school graduate transitions into adulthood.
It’s ideal for families who want a meaningful record of this summer without planning a full portrait session.
It does not include multiple locations, wardrobe changes, extended family,* or a very large proofing gallery. (You can learn more about a standard family photo session on the Families section of my website.)
*Psst. If grandma lives with you or your kid’s best friend from high school wants to come and mark this transition and say goodbye, that’s completely cool. But this is not event photography. These are portraits from a pivotal moment in time. And I’ve been known to stop time with my camera.
Holler if you know a rising high school senior
Late summer and early fall are also ideal for senior portraits, before school, applications, testing, sports, and the rest of senior-year life crowd the calendar.
When it comes to the photo grid of seniors in the yearbook, I leave it to Lifetouch.
But if you’d like authentic portraits of your high school senior looking like themselves, feeling comfortable in their own or favorite environment…I offer Senior Portrait Sessions that are tailored to your child and meet them where they are most comfortable. They are relaxed, fun and deliver an extra boost of confidence.
Click below and join my Class of 2027 portraits list for access to Senior Portrait session dates.
Packages start at $500 and include location shoots and time for wardrobe changes, a mini session in the Spring and option to book a Before They Go session for next summer. 😭
Looking for family portraits or headshots?
